Dam, Dalipi River and DENR Substation at Magdiwang, Sibuyan Island, Romblon

After warming up on the hiking tour of Sanctuary Garden Resort in Magdiwang, Sibuyan Island, Romblon we decided to do what the lady on the restaurant suggested to hike to the DENR Sibuyan Substation passing by a dam and Dalipi River. We first asked some of the staff there on how we could go to the places, they told us a series of complex directions and waypoints that I easily disremembered. They also suggested that we could hire a guide for 500 Pesos to accompany us, unfortunately, we were going low on funds. Good thing that Dazl and Jessica was here. But if all else fail there’s still the option of wearing my clothes inside-out to catch the locals attention and ask them for directions.

I thought that the Dam would be more than a couple of hundred meters away from Sanctuary Garden Resort but it was just less than 100 meters away. The clear waters from the Dam and the people already swimming on it was really inviting! I wanted to swim but I can’t as we still needed to continue walking. I thought that maybe I could go back later in the afternoon after our hiking trip to take a dip at the cool waters of the dam. But that did not happen.

We crossed the dam and asked some of the locals on the directions to Dalipi River. They said to follow the road up ahead, cross some almost dry rivers then take a trail through a mango orchard and we’ll eventually be in Dalipi River. We did what they told us to and luckily there were stones with red arrows that we could follow along the way.

I think we asked almost every group of persons along the way to confirm and get more details on how to get to Dalipi River. When we reached the mango orchard, the lady walking along the trail told us that Dalipi River was just down on our right side and said that we should look for a trail ahead going down. We did and we ended up in an almost dried river bed with some teenagers swimming on the waters. The total time for the walk from the Dam to Dalipi River was a little less than 30 minutes.

The waters were also inviting but not as much as the waters from the Dam. Looking at the surroundings, there was smooth stones around, a water where the teenagers would jump and dive down and pine trees and other trees around the area. We saw then an old lady washing clothes down the river.

After resting and internalizing the surrounding area and having enough rest, we asked the lady doing laundry on how we could get to the DENR Substation. She told us that we should go up again to the mango orchard and turn left to the trail. Follow the trail and we’ll arrive in DENR Substation.

Following the directions we passed by the mango orchard then a mahogany tree plantation then after crossing a dry river the vegetation changed abruptly to a natural forest. This goes to show that we were on the right track. Then building started to emerge on the forest and we found ourselves at the DENR Sibuyan Substation. We walked for about 35 minutes from Dalipi River to Sibuyan Substation.

Other than the dense forest around the DENR Sibuyan Substation I enjoyed talking with the rangers that were on duty and they told us about the Eco-Tourism plan for Mount Guiting-Guiting and Sibuyan Island to preserve the state of their forest as having a high biodiversity than the Galapagos Islands and at the same time provide economic benefits to the locals. I hope that they would proceed with their plans.

When we were there they were constructing a lodge for visitors in the area. The staff told us that when it is completed the lodge would cost 200 Pesos per person.

After an hour and a half of talking, we decided to already leave the area and go back to the lodge. We asked on how we could go out of the DENR Substation and they told us to walk on the road and look for a tricycle along the way that would take us back to Sanctuary Garden Resort.

We walked on the dirt road and eventually saw a parked tricycle on one of the sari-sari stores. Seeing that it was only almost 4PM we should have enough time to still visit Lambingan Falls, then be back to the resort to freshen up and do the Firefly Watching at night.

---

 

Follow my Sibuyan Island, Romblon Series

• Sanctuary Garden Resort in Magdiwang
• Dam, Dalipi River and DENR Substation at Magdiwang
• Lambingan Falls in Magdiwang
• Firefly Watching in Magdiwang
• Journey to Cajidiocan
• Gomot Falls in Cajidiocan
• Late Afternoon Around the Town San Fernando
• Tricycle Tour from San Fernando
• Busay Falls in San Fernando
• Cantingas River Resort in San Fernando
• Dagubdob Picnic Grove in San Fernando

Follow my Romblon Province Series

• Romblon Island
• Cobrador Island
• Sibuyan Island
• Tablas Island
• Banton Island
• Carabao Island